The Fist Beyond the Wall
The Gold Emperor, Baric Hearts.
A legend who truly existed on the continent hundreds of years ago — a man who, with his power to command metal, wielded ten thousand weapons at once.
The Hearts family, which had produced such an extraordinary hero, prospered in turn, but as the generations passed, the blood of the Gold Emperor grew diluted. By the present day, the greatest use of the abilities remaining to his descendants was bending spoons at society parties.
And so, treated as a relic of a bygone age, the Hearts family declined — until one day, a child was born carrying the blood of the Gold Emperor in rich concentration.
Milena Hearts.
She possessed metal-manipulating power superior to that of her siblings, and she alone was taught the family's hereditary dark magic.
It was a dark magic the Hearts family had poured their hearts into creating back in the age of the Grand Necromancers — a technique that laid a curse upon her innate ability, allowing her to control not just metal but other substances as well.
Of course, while the curse was in effect.
"So you can only control one substance at a time?"
Meilin said, looking down at Milena, who had collapsed onto the ground.
Milena couldn't hide the shock on her face.
H-how did she figure that out—!
That was exactly right.
The foundation was metal manipulation, but once she touched an object and pressed it against the perpetual magic circle drawn on her side, the curse's power interfered with her ability's effect, transforming her control over that object into a different power altogether.
With this power, Milena had hurled siege ladders and bricks at Dick, and against Meilin, she had touched ice to slip freely through her spells.
And while her ability was converted to ice manipulation, the torrent of flames pouring down on her had been beyond her reach.
"No wonder it felt off — you were throwing telekinesis around without a care in the world."
Meilin's eyes flashed as she raised her Jet-Black.
"You'll pay dearly for playing with me, Hearts family."
"...Keh!"
Milena scrambled to her feet and bolted.
The situation had reversed, and this time it was Meilin who chased her down, casting her dark magic.
<Dark Whisp>
Small fireballs bounded and flew after her. Milena dodged wildly, shattered a window, and dove into an empty building.
"Hiding won't save you!"
Meilin smashed through the window as well and entered the building.
Damn, she's fast.
Milena was nowhere in sight. But with no trace of movement either, she had to be in hiding.
Meilin readied Jet-Black Flame in her palm and stepped into the narrow corridor — and the instant she did, Milena burst out of cover, charging in a straight line. Meilin thrust out her arm.
<Dark Blaze>
Fwoooosh!
Flames erupted head-on. And at that moment, the corners of Milena's mouth curled upward.
"!"
The fire couldn't burn Milena — it split apart to either side and scattered.
She touched the leftover embers earlier and converted to flame control!
Milena crashed into Meilin's face without taking a scratch.
But the moment she saw Meilin's composed expression, she realized something had gone terribly wrong.
<Cold Bolt>
An ice shard launched from Meilin's opposite hand struck Milena square in the chest and abdomen.
She flew backward with a strangled gasp and slammed into the wall.
"Did you really think I wouldn't prepare for that trick?"
Meilin spread both palms this time. Two different magic circles stacked upon each other — cold rising in one hand, flame igniting in the other.
Multi-casting!
This wasn't simply generating multiple copies of the same spell. Meilin was raising two entirely different spells at the same instant.
It demanded an absurdly precise level of control — like drawing different shapes with each hand at once.
What do I do?!
She had thrown a curse at Meilin earlier, only to watch it get cleanly blocked by a Cancellation — proof that her understanding of curses was top-tier as well.
As expected, the Ivory Tower was strong.
Unlike her own Hearts family, whose glory existed only in the past, the Ivory Tower was a monstrous house that wielded massive influence in the present day.
Suddenly, the sky-haired girl before her seemed to loom as large as a mountain.
"Kgh!"
Milena turned and smashed through another window, fleeing, with Meilin on her heels at once.
Fwoooosh!
CRACKLE-CRUNCH!
Flame and ice hammered down on Milena in turn.
All she could do was run for her life. She plunged into one building and out another, over and over, with Meilin pursuing her relentlessly.
The one advantage I have over that Ivory Tower is—!
Milena hurled herself through yet another window.
Meilin followed right behind her — then flinched and skidded to a stop.
They were on the third floor.
Knowledge of the terrain!
This was Milena's third pass through this district. Her body plummeted fast.
"Think I can't follow?"
Meilin leapt from the windowsill without a moment's hesitation, both arms outstretched.
Fwoooosh!
CRACKLE-CRUNCH!
Flame and cold shot out, tearing down either side of Milena.
Fire on one side, ice on the other. Whichever she controlled, she'd be hit by the other.
-Milena, my daughter. The sole light of our family.
-Go to Kizen. Go and show the world that the Hearts family still lives.
Milena clenched her teeth and flung both arms wide.
"I'm a Kizen student too!"
Killer intent kindled in her eyes.
"What makes you think I won't grow just like you all?"
The perpetual magic circle at her hip and the circles drawn on both her palms vibrated in unison.
<Dual Control>
Fwoooosh!
RRUUMBLE!
Flame and ice halted barely a hair's breadth in front of Milena. Meilin's eyes went wide at the sight.
What? Did she just control two substances at the same time?
Hck! Kgh!
But there was a reason Milena had never used this power before.
The success rate sat below the ten percent range, and each use pushed her unique ability past its original specifications, placing a crushing burden on her body.
Even so.
I broke through the ten percent!
Coughing up blood, Milena was briefly overcome with emotion at herself.
She hit the ground and immediately came roaring in a furious charge at Meilin, who was still descending through the air.
Oh no—!
Meilin swiftly pinpointed her landing spot and traced a magic circle on the ground.
<Wall of Ice>
RRRRRRR!
An ice wall surged upward, and Meilin descended behind it. A strange light flickered in Milena's eyes as she charged.
She threw up that wall in a hurry — the ice is thin!
While running, Milena pulled the half-melted ice from her pocket and pressed it to her side. The curse whirred to life, converting her controlled substance from flame to ice.
A second consecutive Dual Control was impossible. Even if she cleared that wall, Meilin would simply fall back and hurl more flame or ice at her.
Which meant—
I'll smash straight through the front!
Her hands struck the ice wall. As expected, it was thin. With a crackling sound, the wall began to collapse.
If she just barreled through and so much as touched Meilin's body—!
CRRAAASH!
Milena's pupils trembled.
A shock that whitewashed her brain surged up from her abdomen, and her body slid backward. Her breath caught as if she'd taken a fist squarely to the stomach, and her legs shook uncontrollably.
RRRRMBLE—
Through the crumbling ice, she saw Meilin frozen in the follow-through of a punched fist.
"Magic Combat...?"
Bewilderment flooded Milena's face. Meilin slowly lowered her fist, eyes closed.
"Couldn't help it."
Her blue eyes turned toward Milena.
"Seeing you look so impressive got me worked up too."
<Hong Peng Original — Cheonhyung>
Thud.
Milena crumpled to the ground.
She used her own ice as a wall to deliver a piercing strike.
The Cheonhyung had landed dead-on, and Milena's Barrier Gauge dropped to 0%.
She bowed her head low.
"Don't go blubbering in the dormitory too long~ Hearts family."
Meilin said, resting a hand on her hip.
"Fighting me that hard is something you should be bragging about to everyone you meet."
A bitter smile crossed Milena's face.
"Arrogance really does pierce the heavens, Ivory Tower."
And with that smile, Milena's body faded away.
Milena Hearts — ELIMINATED
Defense Team (15/15)
Siege Team (13/15)
Meilin let out a sigh of relief and stared down at her own fist.
Simon's voice echoed in her mind.
-Don't register what touches your palm — feel as though you're stabbing straight through to what lies beyond it.
-Don't consciously focus on the object in front of you. Put everything into the target beyond it.
She smiled sheepishly and squeezed her slender fist tight.
Thank you for teaching me Cheonhyung, Simon.
It had been a rather reckless attempt.
But she found herself thinking that Magic Combat wasn't so bad after all.
A few days earlier.
-Simon, the biggest weakness I see in you is your stamina.
Meilin had pointed this out during Dick's siege warfare lecture.
-Sure, you're strong. You could definitely take out at least one person in a siege. The problem is, no matter who you're facing, you're the type to just dump your firepower all at once and see what happens. The Overlord, and especially your Royal Guard — they're all like that. A necromancer who takes one kill, burns out, and immediately falls apart isn't all that threatening on a battlefield.
When Simon heard this, he agreed with her, admitting he'd felt the same about himself.
A siege was a long, drawn-out battle with twelve hours of relentless fighting. Managing stamina and Jet-Black reserves, and sustaining a fight over time — those were exactly what Simon needed.
So Simon had prepared his Skeleton Mages, and rather than overwhelming enemy soldiers with raw firepower, he had fought by spreading Oil Fruits around and setting fires as he went. He had corrected precisely the flaw Meilin had pointed out.
And yet.
"...Ugh, I want to turn back time."
Even though she had just taken down a key opponent, Meilin's face was flushing hot with belated embarrassment.
She'd lectured someone else about stamina, and here she was — having taken down a single opponent with her strength, Jet-Black, and everything else completely drained.
"Haaah, so embarrassing."
Of course, defeating Milena Hearts was a tremendous feat. No one on the defense team could blame Meilin for it — but those words from the past kept nagging at her all the same.
She trudged up to the rooftops. With her Jet-Black depleted, showing up at the ramparts now would only get in the way.
To recover her Jet-Black and all, she'd come to collect the arrows Simon had fired.
Simon's uniform hung from one of the arrows. Apparently in case Meilin happened to miss it.
"So THAT's why he told me with an arrow instead of a message, huh."
Truthfully, relaying the intel on Milena via communication was as far as Dick's plan had gone. But Simon had added one more idea to it.
Send it by communication, and the enemy naturally overhears it too.
If Meilin was struggling because she didn't know her opponent, Simon hoped she'd also gain the advantage of the moment the enemy learned she knew. So instead of a transmission, he'd attached a note to an arrow and fired it.
If Meilin missed it or the timing was bad, he figured he'd explain over comms afterward.
Fortunately, Meilin had confirmed the note all on her own, and succeeded in paying Milena back with a direct Jet-Black Flame hit while the girl's guard was down.
Rustle, rustle.
Meilin picked up Simon's uniform jacket hanging from the arrow and unfolded it.
"..."
After staring at it for a moment, she cautiously tried it on herself.
Standing side by side she'd never really noticed, but apparently the size difference between a boy and a girl did matter — it was enormous. The jacket hung down to her thighs, and even with her arms stretched fully out, her hands vanished inside the sleeves.
"...Simon's bigger than he looks, huh."
She flapped the oversized sleeves back and forth. Somehow it made her feel like a baby again, and she couldn't help laughing.
Feeling strangely restless, Meilin went ahead and gave the fabric a sniff.
The sleeves, the collar — she could catch the lingering scent of Simon everywhere. He didn't wear cologne, yet a faint, subtle smell clung to the cloth.
Boldly, she buried her face in the fabric and closed her eyes.
"!"
As if by magic, her mind went calm, and her stress level dropped.
Complete tranquility.
Breathing in Simon's scent like this, scenes with him naturally drifted through her head.
-It's fine, you matter more. I'll teach you, so get your stance right.
Remembering her Magic Combat session with Simon, Meilin's face burned scarlet.
She yanked her face away from his clothes.
"...God, seriously. What am I, a pervert?"
As the noble daughter of the great Ivory Tower, she had standards to uphold.
She glanced in a full circle to check no one was watching, then walked toward the ramparts with elaborate nonchalance.
Though walking around in someone else's clothes like this is a bit much, isn't it?
Meilin took the jacket off, then draped it casually over her own shoulder instead.
This was better.
It felt like one of those cold days when a gentleman takes off his coat and wraps it around a lady's shoulders.
Humming a little tune, Meilin made her way toward the ramparts.
Her Jet-Black still hadn't recovered — but for just a moment, she caught herself hoping it would take its sweet time doing so.